Three Things About Abstinence-Only Sex Ed You Need to Know Now

Carolyn Davis writes that all teens have a right to sexuality education that equips them to not only decrease unplanned teen pregnancy and reduce the transmission of infection, but also build healthy lives and relationships.

Sunday night, John Oliver effectively blew up the internet — and delighted sexuality education advocates — by taking on the Kafka-esque absurdity that is America’s ongoing love affair with abstinence-only until marriage, or AOUM, sex education (a chaste, no touching below the neck love affair, of course).

Oliver’s brilliant piece did a marvelous job laying out many of the problems inherent in the abstinence-only approach, from its emphasis on shame and statistical ineffectiveness in preventing unplanned pregnancy or sexually-transmitted infections (STI) to its harmful neglect of the needs of LGBTQ teens. These are things you need to know. But for the full story, here are three more things about abstinence-only sexual education and how lawmakers are attempting to limit a more comprehensive approach to sex ed.

The above excerpt was originally published in Medium. Click here to view the full article.

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